Chambersburg man sentenced in decades old sex abuse case

CHAMBERSBURG >> A Chambersburg man pleaded guilty Wednesday to statutory sexual assault and corruption of minors, and was sentenced to intensive rehab in a decades old sex abuse case.

Jeremy David Barnhart, 30, was accused by a woman close to him, of prolonged sexual abuse when she was between ages eight and 15, according to court documents. Barnhart was between ages 12 and 19 at the time of the abuse, ending in 2005.

Barnhart was sentenced to between time served and eight years of probation for the incidents, as well as immediate release to the VA Hospital in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where he would participate in an intensive 90 day Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder rehabilitation program

Though the woman was not present in court Wednesday, an emotional statement was read to the court by Franklin County First Assistant District Attorney Lauren Sulcove.

The woman called the plea agreement "beyond merciful" and said that "at least now I can feel some justice."

She wrote how she had been betrayed not only by Barnhart, but by authority figures in her life who tried to hide the abuse.

"I will never completely trust anyone in my life," she wrote, and referenced how one of these figures asked the investigating trooper what the statute of limitations was on the charges, and "what if it was consensual?"

The abuse, according to court documents, included multiple rapes and sexual assaults occurring in Guilford Township and Hamilton Township homes. The woman told investigators she was threatened with violence and religious persecution if she told anyone.

The woman discussed how she continues to have night terrors and panic attacks that lead to vomiting from the stress. She wrote that she struggles to get out of bed every day, because of the abuse.

She considered herself "tainted with such darkness," and believes she is now a monster.

"I'm damaged, and that's the reality," she wrote.

Sulcove informed Franklin County Judge Angela Krom that the plea agreement was only brought to the court after extensive discussions with the woman who believes it is the best course of action.

The sentence is considered a mitigated sentence, as Sulcove explained that factors such as the age Barnhart was during the assaults and the considerable time between the last assault and the disclosure warranted the agreement over trial.

"All feel this is the best result," Sulcove told Krom.

Barnhart himself hung his head the moment Krom asked him to tell the court what happened. His recounting of the first incident was merely a recounting of the legal jargon used in the charge, which Krom said she already had.

Barnhart then said he had "indecent contact" with the woman, which she said was enough to convict him of corruption of minors. Again, Krom asked him to tell her what happened to warrant the sexual assault charge.

"Christmas time of '97, I sexually assaulted (the woman)," Barnhart said. Krom accepted this as his final statement.

In accepting the plea agreement Krom said of the woman, "I won't victimize her further."

Along with Barnhart's intensive rehabilitation program, he is ordered to complete 50 hours of community service each week for every week he is not "gainfully employed, attending school, or other reason as approved by probation authorities", according to court documents. There is a maximum length of 2 years left on Barnhart's jail time, which will be added to his probation time, resulting in a total of 10 years of required probation.

Barnhart is prohibited from having contact with the woman, and will not have unsupervised contact with minors. He also is required to pay court costs, at least $250. He also will undergo sex offender treatment, but is not required to register as a sex offender.